Living Souls (excerpt)

Synopsis:

The great Russian author, Lev Tolstoy, a man suffused with the hubris of his unparalleled success, seeks out artists whom he deems worthy of his intellect.  One such artist is the great, somewhat younger composer, Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

In a series of brief encounters, the two men play a kind of cat and mouse game of fragile egos underpinned, quite possibly, by the fact that their mutual attraction is homosexual, and therefore unmentionable.

In a subtle two-hander, in which the men also play their wives, we watch this intellectual dance, following it through to its ultimate denouement.

And all of this to the accompaniment of Tchaikovsky’s inspired music.

Character Breakdown:

The play is a 2-hander:  2 males
PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY 36 – 53 / SOPHIA TOLSTOY  34 – 66 /NIKOLAI RUBINSTEIN  42 / ANTONINA MILIUKOVA  45 – one actor.
LEV TOLSTOY  48 – 82 / ANTONINA MILIUKOVA  28 – 33 / VLADIMIR DAVYDOV (BOBIK)  8 – 21 – one actor.

ANTONINA is played by each actor, but at different ages.

The casting is very much purposeful as opposed to any attempt to reduce cast size.

Running-time:  90 minutes

Production History:  Not yet produced.

Excerpt available for download for free.